


Last night I told ya I loved ya; That’s the last time I drink Tequila

by Dragongoddess13



Series: Sex Is An Emotion In Motion [13]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Best Friends, Childhood Friends, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:28:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22745563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragongoddess13/pseuds/Dragongoddess13
Summary: Two times they say I love you and the one time it sticks
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Series: Sex Is An Emotion In Motion [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1530782
Comments: 11
Kudos: 116





	Last night I told ya I loved ya; That’s the last time I drink Tequila

Last night I told ya I loved ya; that’s the last time I drink Tequila

xXx

Her head was pounding as consciousness came back to her. Bursts of light go off behind her eyelids as her eyes begin to move. She groans, rolling over and burying her face in the pillows. Her mouth feels like she’d licked Nymeria and her ears were ringing like fireworks had just been set off next to her head. 

“Why?” She groans. 

“Because ninety percent of your impulse control left early.” 

Arya starts, eyes popping open just long enough to make out the shape of her best friend’s half sister beside her, before she screwed them shut again. 

“Fuck, why are the curtains open?” 

“We forgot to close them last night.” Mya grumbles.

Arya forces herself to open her eyes again, squinting against the light that’s streaming in through the bedroom curtains. “I did it again didn’t I?”

“Yep.” 

She sighs, collapsing face first into her pillow again. “Why?” She wines this time. “Why do I do this to myself?” 

“Don’t ask me that right now.” Mya tells her. “I’m too hungover to diagnose your neurosis right now. Call me during regular office hours.” 

It takes a while, but eventually the women manage to get up and move around like somewhat functioning adults. Mya makes coffee while Arya is in the shower and Mya takes a shower while Arya makes breakfast. It’s a standard routine that they’ve got down to a science. Spend Friday night at the bar drinking away their stress from long classes and hours of studying with their friends and then spend Saturday trying not throw up everything they eat. 

“Why did Gendry leave early?” Arya asks as they sit down to eat.

“No idea but he seemed upset about something.” Mya tells her, shoveling a fork full of eggs into her mouth. 

She curses. “He’s been getting on me about drinking too much. I told him I would cut back, he’s probably upset that I didn’t.” 

“Can’t blame him there, you know how he is about alcohol.” 

Arya hums. “I’m gonna call him.” She says, standing from the table. She grabs her phone from her jeans from the night before and dials his number from memory. He picks up after the third ring. 

“Hello?” He sounds tired, his voice rough from sleep. 

“Hey Gendry.” She replies. 

There’s a pause and she hears the shifting of sheets as he moves around on the other end. “Hey, Arry. How are you feeling?” 

“Okay. I just wanted to call and make sure you were alright. Mya said you looked upset when you ducked out last night.” 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” 

“You’re not mad at me are you?” 

The pause this time is longer and Arya begins to wonder if the line has disconnected, before; “A little.” He tells her. 

“I’m so sorry, Gen. I know I promised to slow down.”

“It’s alright, I knew it wasn’t going to be an overnight thing.” He tells her. 

“It’s not alright though. I made you a promise and I broke it.” 

She hears the rush of breath as Gendry sighs. “Don’t do that Arry. It’s not that big a deal. You aren’t my father, I know that. Just make a conscious effort tonight when you go out.” 

“Maybe I shouldn’t go out.” She says, “Maybe we could hang out tonight instead. That new movie wanted to see is out, we could rent it and order in.”

“I’m sorry. I already have plans tonight.” 

It shouldn’t have hurt to hear that, but it did. “Oh, okay. Maybe some other time.” 

“Tomorrow morning?” He asks. “We both have papers do, we can grab breakfast and go to the library, then hang out later.” 

Arya smiles to herself. “Yeah, that sounds great. We’ll meet early. It’ll be a good excuse not to go out tonight.” 

Gendry chuckles and Arya can feel the weight lift from her shoulders. “You want me to pick you up?” He asks. She agrees and with a simple goodbye, she hangs up the phone.

xXx

Gendry drops the phone to the bed as the call ends and lets out a long slow breath. He rubs the crease of his brow trying to alleviate the pain that had gathered there since he read Arya’s name on the caller ID. It’s not the reaction one would expect from him, he’s caught quite a bit of flak in his like, his demeanor changing whenever she called or appeared. But this morning, he just wasn’t ready to talk to her yet. 

The night before had been a Friday like any other. He met Arya and Mya at the bar just off campus and they had a few drinks. The conversation he’d had with Arya about moderating herself a little better was still fresh in his mind as she ordered drink after drink. He knew what was coming, she would drink too much, fool around a little too much and then he would drag her back to her dorm to sleep it off. That didn’t bother him so much. He was being honest when he told her he hadn’t expected her to start right away, and he’d argued with himself about reminding her of her promise, but their friends were there and he didn’t want to embarrass her. 

It was what happened later in the night that pushed him over the edge. He’d run into Arya on her way back from the restroom and the moment she noticed him, her face lit up and she’d thrown herself into his arms. He’d huffed a laugh at her behavior, she had always been an affectionate drunk. He didn’t think it was so funny when she started babbling, however. 

“You are my best friend in the whole wide world.” She told him, emphasizing each word by poking him in the chest. 

He chuckled. “And you are mine.” He replies, getting ready to swing her up into his arms so he could help her back to the table. 

“I don’t know what I would do without you.” She continues. “I mean… you… you’re just so… so Gendry.” She tells him and when he looks down at her he sees her eyes misting over. “I love you.” 

He smiles at her, pushing the ache aside. He knew what she meant and it wasn’t what he wanted her to mean. “I love you too, Arry.” 

She shakes her head. “No, I. Love. You.” She insisted. “I love you so much and I can’t even tell you that.” 

Gendry feels his heart soar. “Why can’t you tell me?” 

“Tell you what?” She asks, and just like that the joy is gone. 

He takes a deep breath, his jaw working, grinding, as he does his best to force down the anger. “Nothing.” He finally says, voice tight. 

“You’re mad.” She slurs. “Why are you mad?” He shakes his head. “Did someone upset you, do you want me to kick their ass?” 

The anger dissipates a bit, but not by much and he shakes his head again, hoisting her into his arms and leading her back to the table. He drops her off in an empty seat and she’s immediately drawn into a conversation with Podrick. Without waiting for anyone to notice, he went to the bar to pay his tab and then left. 

The truth was, he didn’t have plans that night, he just wasn’t sure he could face her just yet. So instead he lied, condemning himself to a quiet night in, replaying the night before over and over in his mind. It was obvious that she didn’t remember the conversation, hell, it was obvious she had forgotten it while they were still having it. The question was, did he want to bring it up and risk reminding her of a mistake, or did he let it go and force himself to carry on like nothing had happened. 

By that afternoon he had decided that his decade long friendship with her was more important than anything else, so he pushed it down, grabbed his keys and made his way to her dorm room, picking up a couple of movies at the rental store and some snacks. 

Within an hour he’s knocking on her door. The smile she gives him when the door opens is as breathtaking as every smile she gives him. How anyone could ever make someone feel as wanted as Arya did him, he didn’t know, but he wouldn’t give it up for anything. 

“What are you doing here?” She asks. 

“Well, the more I thought about it, the more I realized my other plans wouldn’t be nearly as fun as hanging out with you.” He tells her. “So I cancelled them.” 

She grins, stepping aside to let him in. 

Xxx

Gendry isn’t much of a drinker. He’s watched his father drink a bit too much his entire life and he wasn’t too keen on ever embarrassing himself the way Robert tended to embarrass himself. So, he avoided drinking too much whenever he went out. He was a big man, so one or two weren’t enough to affect him, so he tended to take on the role of designated driver. Tonight however, he wanted nothing to do with sobriety. 

His Half brother was being his usual bratty self and his father was once again, letting it run rampant. Gendry was sick of it. If he had pulled half the shit Joffrey got away with, his father would disown him. Now he’s stuck dealing with the fall out of Joffrey’s latest folley and there’s literally nothing he can do about it but grin and bear the scrutiny. 

Well, that and drink until he forgot it all. 

“Gendry.” Arya’s voice cuts through the fog of his mind. He’s currently sprawled out on a pool chair, a beer bottle balanced in his hand on his chest and a glazed look in his eye. He feels her sit in the small space beside him and like a reflex he moves over so she can get comfortable. “Maybe you should slow down a little.” Her voice is soft, ensuring that only he can hear her. 

Gendry turns his head to look at her, then abruptly holds the bottle out for her to take. She huffs, taking it and setting it aside. She then scoots down a bit, looping her arm through his and laying her head on his shoulder. 

“I know everything sucks right now, but it’ll get better.” She tells him. “I promise.” 

Gendry doesn’t respond right away. He’s still staring at her, eyes not quite focused. Unlike drunk Arya, drunk Gendry was stoic and quiet, even more so than usual. He forces the fog away for a moment, getting a pretty good look at her before it claims him again. She’s so pretty. He can’t remember if he’s ever told her that. He should tell her that. 

“I love you.” He says instead, not seeming to realize his slip up. He feels her tense against him. She looks up at him, and even in his hazy state he can see her disbelief. He’s never hated anyone before, but he hates Jeyne Poole for making her doubt what is so obvious. “You’re so damn beautiful.” He continues, as if he’s just repeating himself more admently. 

Arya huffs, a small smile spreading her lips. She shakes her head and leans up, laying a kiss on his cheek. “I think it’s time we got you home, okay?” 

“Mkay.” He agrees easy enough. He goes with her as she pulls him to his feet. The rest of the journey is a blur, but when he wakes in the morning with a splitting headache, he’s in his own bed. 

Xxx

Arya stares up at the ceiling for most of the night, listening to Gendry’s drunken snores in the other room. She can’t stop thinking about his words, the way they sounded coming from him, it was better than she had ever imagined it could. But it didn’t last. As he continued to talk she remembered that he was drunk and there was no reason to believe he meant what he had said. 

There was no reason for her to believe that someone like Gendry could ever feel that way about her. She was just Arry, Arya Horseface, Arya Underfoot. Annoying and brash, she was a good friend, but that was it. Gendry could have anyone he wanted, he had no need to settle for her. 

It was nice of him to say she was beautiful though. He was a good friend like that, always trying to make her feel good, feel better, despite her flaws. He was such a kind and sweet man, despite his gruff exterior, and she hoped that whoever was lucky enough to spend the rest of their life with him could appreciate him the way he deserved to be.

Xxx

“God I love you.” Gendry says watching Arya dance around the kitchen to the song playing on the old dial radio sitting on the window seal. He’s not sure where it comes from, but it’s as true now as it’s ever been. She freezes, turning slowly to face him where he stands leaning against the counter. 

“Really?” She asks, a bright smile crossing her face. “You really mean it this time?” 

“Really.” He replies then stops. “Wait what?” He asks standing straight. “What do you mean this time?” 

A light blush flushes her cheeks as she replies. “When we were in University, during all that stuff with Joffrey, you got drunk and told me you loved me.” Gendry stares at her dumbfounded, and she shifts uncomfortably from foot to foot. He feels the laughter bubble out before he can stop it. With her hands on her hips she huffs. “What’s so funny?”

He calms down a bit, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Do you remember the night you thought I was mad at you for drinking too much?” 

“Sure, why?” 

“I wasn’t mad because you supposedly broke your promise.” He tells her. “I was mad that you told me you loved me and didn’t mean it. I mean you forgot about it while we were still talking.” He huffs. 

“Gods we’re both stupid.” 

Gendry grins. “We’ll just have to make up for all this missed time.” 


End file.
